Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1283588
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2020 10 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK CONTACT tracing remains central to Malta's control strategy during the COVID-19 out- break. Volunteers and medical professionals are tracing back everyone who has been in close contact with a person infected by the virus, and keeping them under quarantine in case they develop symptoms. One member of the contact-tracing team gave an insight on the contact-tracing pro- cess, and the hurdles they've found along the way. "When a person registers positive for COV- ID-19, that person needs to make a list of every person they've been in contact with over the past two weeks. The list is then giv- en to the police so they can carry out spot- checks." The list involves close contacts. If people have spent over 15 minutes with someone who tested positive, they will be added to the list and have to undergo quarantine for 14 days from the date of last contact. If they live with someone who has been in close contact with a positive case, they also have to quarantine. "Contact tracing can have negative implica- tions on the household. If the persons living in the household have no alternative space to live in, every person has to quarantine. There are also issues where persons are living in the same household on negative terms – some may refuse to give the contacts of those they're living with," she said. It is not uncommon for contacts to refuse to quarantine or give details on who they've been in contact with. In these situations, the contact-tracing team would threaten them with a €3,500 fine; but the contact might re- taliate by threatening volunteers with legal action or verbal threats. If the problem escalates, the case may be brought to the attention of higher authori- ties. The volunteer noted that there were around 50 to 100 close contacts for every person who tested positive for COVID-19, creating a ma- jor backlog in contact tracing efforts. "The backlog was difficult, but the con- tact-tracing team finally caught up with the backlog on 21 August. We're a team of 50 volunteers, doctors, and medical students – but we haven't grown much since the first wave of COVID-19 cases," she remarked. There are also certain technicalities that make contact-tracing challenging. "There was a situation where a family had just built a flat of apartments, where they were living with extended family in separate units, but the house number hadn't been amended. In this case, everyone falling under that house number had to quarantine, despite living in separate units." While government directives are compre- hensive, they are far from perfect. This has been a learning curve for everyone, but the government regularly updates their direc- tives to adjust for various loopholes and technicalities. However, there is yet to be a protocol in place in the event that someone from the contact-tracing team tests positive. "Would everyone have to be placed in quarantine? If so, who would carry out the contact-tracing? In such an uncertain situation as a global pandemic, trial and error is the only way to go forward – hopefully this won't prove to be critical error," the volunteer said. LAURA CALLEJA FACEMASKS have made life harder for the deaf and hard-of- hearing (HOH), the Deaf People Association has warned as more people integrate the masks into their daily life due to COVID-19. "Most deaf people rely on lip-reading, gestures and body language. It's a continuous struggle for the deaf commu- nity to be able to communicate with people wearing a mask, as it covers the speaker's mouth," said Annabelle Scerri, president of the Deaf People Association. Representing over 1,500 deaf people across Malta and Gozo, Scerri said she wanted more people using visors for the sake of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. "One can wear a mask and change it by wearing a visor at least while communicating with a deaf or HOH person." Scerri said she also concerned that school may become impos- sible for deaf or HOH persons. "It is impossible for a deaf/HOH student to follow what is being said in class during the lessons if the teacher is wearing a mask. We understand that visors may be uncomfortable but wearing one is the least that one can do if they have a deaf/HOH client or student." Scerri said she hoped more people will oblige with gestures and body language to help deaf consumers when shopping or when pointing out the amount that has to be paid at the coun- ter on receipts, calculators, or cash registers. Scerri said public health au- thorities had also failed to raise awareness on the issue. "We are aware that when a speaker is told that one is deaf, the speak- er moves to a safe distance and uncovers the mouth so that the deaf person can read lips. When this happens, it is very impor- tant that deaf/HOH persons keep their mask on and wear it correctly." Malta's COVID-19 briefings by the Public Health Superin- tendent have been accompa- nied by sign language for the deaf. Scerri suggested that shop owners could provide "clear masks" which enable lip-read- ing in order to help deaf people feel "safe and included". She al- so recommends online retailers such as Etsy shops, for badges that can be attached to regular masks, with messages such as "please be patient I'm hard of hearing", in order to make peo- ple immediately aware of their situation. "That's just half the problem. It's not about informing people that one is deaf or HOH, but to hear or lip-read what people are saying… Lip-reading requires people facing the deaf person when talking, not covering the mouth, or speaking with food in the mouth. Words that sound and look the same on lips, such as 'ninety' and 'nineteen', means masks make communi- cating almost impossible." Facemasks 'almost impossible hurdle' for deaf people "It is impossible for a deaf/HOH student to follow what is being said in class during the lessons if the teacher is wearing a mask" Contact-tracing volunteers catch up with COVID-19 backlog